1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for splicing at least two single or multiple layer materials comprising air permeable soft paper webs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An usual method of splicing web material has so far been to stop the material web which is to be spliced and thereafter to manually tape the old material web to a new material web. For providing a more secure splice between two multiple layer materials it is usual to tape both sides of the departing material web so that the upper and lower layers of the respective material web are joined together. A natural result of this splicing method is that the web tension, which is important for carrying out the process, is lost. Starting up again after splicing and retrieving the web tension results in undesired material waste. Another method used for simple material webs has been to use vacuum for providing a temporary positional fixation of the new material web in relation to the old one which is to be spliced, the speed of the web which is to be spliced being lowered at a predetermined splicing instant sufficiently for the new material web to be fixed against the old one with the aid of rapidly setting glue or a tape arrangement when the webs come together and the vacuum is released. This method has been found unsuitable for thin multiple layer soft paper material due to only one of the layers in the respective material web being joined to each other.